Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Doppler1212
The first 6 or ten episodes are easily the best and most enjoyable part of the show, so if you do end up watching this just stick around for those. Once the actual plot gets started things just get worse from there. Which is really unfortunate because there were a lot of genuinely moving character beats and arcs that are suspended in a god awful plot and story exucution.
At its core my main issue is that the story is slave to whatever perpetuates drama in the moment, damn character and damn integrity of the narrative. The story suffers from a severe lack of creating believable stakes and plot, because of the aforementioned issue, as any upper hand the protagonist gain is surely to be lost, and same for the antagonists. This is the state of the story for 26 episodes which really drag on.…
Read at the sourceMr_Yaz
✪ Genre: drama, sci-fi (human enhancement, human experimentation, cloning), seinen, superpower with some elements of action (gunfights, fighting)
✔Positive Aspects✔
◧ Decent soundtrack: a variety of songs embellished the series most of the time, nothing overly exciting, but also, nothing utterly unnoticeable as well.
◧ Decent animation: distinct character designs, unambiguous man-made structures, and intelligible designs of elaborate machinery - the overall result could have been better if the colors were more saturated and more vibrant, instead of being somewhat muted and uninviting. ✘Negative Aspects✘
◧ For a supposed action-based series, its action scenes felt lackluster and unsatisfying.
◧ Conceptually, I can't really say that I understood what was this series all about since it…
Read at the sourcekawaii123456
Read or Die should have been an 8 or and 8.5 Unfortunately it's more 6.7 to 7.1.
It's got a few really big problems that bring it down .
First the pacing of the story is abysmally slow for the first 13 episodes or so. Initially it just plods along it tries to be action oriented but fails and mostly spins its wheels with throw away plot elements. Admittedly it does get character development going, but it does so with what are mostly irrelevant story lines.
Second it really doesn't decide what it wants to be. Does it want to be a character driven shoujo, yuri kind of anime ? Does it want to be an action spy flick ? Does it want to be a slice of life ? It doesn't know, and it's trying for all the above.
Thirdly if you saw the OVA that this is the sequel to it fails to deliver on what y…
Read at the sourcedfirefox83
Read or Die - TV definitely falls in the category of unique anime series. While it takes place after the events of Read or Die, OVA, the storyline centers around Japanese storywriter and more so, her three bodyguards, the Paper Masters who are three sisters with the unusual ability to manipulate paper however they see fit. I found the story to be intriguing as you go from protecting Nenene to the sisters having missions on the sideline and then to finding out how the sisters, Nenene, Yomiko Readman and the Joker all intertwined in the second half. Theres a good amount of action for the series peppered with episodes where you get to see character development fleshed out. You can feel the sisterhood amongst the four and how their bonds are what keeps them moving forward as they figure out th…
Read at the sourceTakaCode
I really liked the Read or Die OVA. While it wasn’t the best anime OVA ever made it still was one of the most enjoyable and fun anime OVAs I have ever seen from this medium. So when I decided to hold my out of print Read Or Die TV DVD UK boxset I was pretty cautious about because before I even watched it I asked people opinions about Read Or Die TV and what I got was pretty divided. On one camp you had people who absolutely loved it and they thought it was better than the OVA while the other camp didn’t like it all that much as it’s very inferior to the OVA that barely had any charm. So after reading people opinions of Read Or Die TV I decided to watch it. 26 episodes later and I safely say that Read Or Die TV is an amazing squeal as it everything that was great in the ova and made it bett…
Read at the sourceMarryMeSenpai
*warning may contain spoilers*
(sorry for my poor grammar hehe)
story///
first of all it doesn't have a finished ending feeling, there isnt even an ova that ends it like future diary. this is the main reason the show isnt rated positive. as far as the story it starts of pretty simple, gets a bit more jumbled towards the middle and end part. the pacing is pretty bad in this show, i actually took a fairly long break around episode 8, because it stopped interesting me.
art///
its bareable, it is an older anime pre 2005 so i give most of the animation problems to the age. but there are some horrid face animations. mostly involving anita and the people she is kicking..
sound///
i have never really had a problem with the sound portion of an anime review but , i had multiple problems with…
Read at the sourceMythof_Feminism
Having watched the fantastic R.o.D. OVA I decided to check out the series... first thing that must be known is that it does not directly follow the storyline of the OVA but instead takes the route of coming up with three completely new protagonists; "The Paper Sisters".
I do not want to give any spoilers but this is something you learn very early on in episode 1;
Each of these sisters is a papermaster with the ability to manipulate paper in a variety of ways.... the big problem is, each of them ONLY manipulate paper in a specific way. The major draw of Yomiko Readman in RoD OVA was that she could be wildly creative with her manipulation of paper, creating airplanes, swords, shields, parachutes, etc.... by limiting each of the characters to one specific form of paper manipulation it turns…
Read at the sourceHybridMedia
Remember last time last year, when I watched an OVA called Mezzo Forte and I thought that was one of the many entertaining anime I had ever saw and then after that, I’ve reviewed Mezzo DSA, the TV series to follow it and I thought the TV series was very bland and vanilla compared to the OVA, offering nothing to the table aside from a few basics from the OVA. Well, I was very cautious when going into the Read or Die franchise as I know a few friends of mine said that OVA is very underrated and I wholeheartedly agree about. Now with this TV series, that might say the opposite that it isn’t as good as the OVA but hey, who knows? I might find a different opinion on it.
The series begins in 2006, five years after the "I-Jin" incident detailed in the Read or Die OVA. Yomiko Readman (a.k.a. "T…
Read at the sourceCloneyboi
Read or Die the TV (R.O.D for short) is definitely one of my favorite all-time animes which i have watched over and over.
The characters are amazing with each one possessing a power slightly altered to one another as to keep them all original. I do however feel that some of the characters were not used to their full potential such as Michelle who, although got a lot of screen time didn't use her powers as often as say Anita.
I was also quite surprised as the anime doesn't offer much fan-service (there is a little) but then one episode had nudity out of nowhere (not that that is a problem am i right?)
Overall i loved this anime and will probably continue to rewatch it in the future.
Read at the sourceDonwun
I really miscalculated thinking that this series with three paper masters would give me 3x the enjoyment I got from watching the original Read Or Die OVA.
Animation
Animation is pretty solid, character designs are clean and cute, nice color schemes and some interesting paper based battles (when there where battles). Surprisingly there was hardly any noticeable fanservice which I thought was a good thing until the slow pacing of the story actually made me wish fanservice was there to keep me awake on some of the more snail paced episodes.
Sound
This is definitely the best point of this anime, catchy opening theme, nice closing themes and enjoyable classical background themes for episodes. Unfortunately I put myself through the ringer with this painful English dub. The dub was painful mo…
Read at the sourceUriel1988
Enjoying an anime is always nice; better yet is when a series ends up exceeding your expectations. Such is the case with 'R.O.D. the TV'. This is a surprisingly entertaining adventure with likable characters and a jazzy soundtrack that should be checked out by anyone who enjoyed the action-packed OVA that came before it. To those who haven't: I strongly recommend you do, it's a terrific action-anime first and foremost; but it must also be noted that the second half of this series builds heavily on characters and events that transpire in the OVA.
'R.O.D The TV' is best described as a combination of X-Men and James Bond, with a dash of Cowboy Bebop. The story revolves around three girls: the happy-go-lucky but surprisingly perceptive Michelle, the tall-and-silent Maggy and the spunky Anita.…
Read at the sourceace52387
The OVA of Read or Die is a secret agent parody, perhaps poking a little fun at how ridiculous some of 007`s plots are, and its overboard story of literary greats trying to take over the world has a campy charm. The TV series brings back most of the characters from the OVA,but centers itself around a new cast. Even though it`s a little more heavy handed with its mood and drama, all the style in the OVA is preserved, only drawn out to a long 26 episodes.
Where the laughably crazy plot in the OVA held a certain charm, it doesn`t serve well as the plot of a TV series. The plot is fairly thin for the first half of the series. It alternates between monsters of the week and some slice of life pieces. The monster of the week encounters don`t have the same elaborate design as the action packed en…
Read at the sourceDraxx
I hated this anime the Yomiko chick is such a loser. all she does through out the whole anime is destroy other peoples lives betraying, and just being stupid. I hate all the main characters they are just these dumb girls who think they know what they are talking about while they have not clue. I wanted the main characters to die. But of course they can't die because they're the main characters. The main characters did not have any respect for anyone but themselves. They anime makes me so angry its so pointless, This anime would be a perfect 10 if all the main characters where destroyed because their ignorance and disrespect was astounding. I could not enjoy this anime I was just hoping these skanks would die.
Read at the sourcemistah-manila
Okay let's get down to business, R.O.D. the Tv is all about an author (Nenene) who is in a creative slump because her mentor has disappeared for years. Then one day she runs across a trio of magical paper controlling women who want to become her bodyguards, of course this has it's setbacks as we soon come to learn that there is a relation between the trio and Nenene's missing mentor and that it all has something to do with the British Library.
The story provides fast paced action with beautiful animation. What's great about the drawing style is that the animator is able to create many action scenes that utilize paper, fluttering up and down, through the fight scenes.
Plot-wise, the story is amazing with many twists and turns, dragging in characters you would never had thought had any rela…
Read at the sourceadeadaccountlol
ROD started out as a really fun anime full of action, humor and extremely likable characters. The soundtrack is unique and "cool" that give a certain mood to the series that really fits. The animation and character design is also rather pleasurable. However, about halfway through, the story heads towards stagnation as if the creators had run out of ideas. Even though I watched the last half more recently than the first half, my memory for the first half is better since there just wasn't much notable material with the second half. The real killer to the series was the bland, predictable ending that was a complete failure of a finale.
This series was definitely one that starts off with huge potential, but flatlines after a point in such a bad, horrible way that the whole anime was killed fo…
Read at the sourcealienninjasaiyan
R.O.D. the TV is a 26-episode anime produced by the great Aniplex production house. It is the sequel to the R.O.D. movie, and occurs 5 years after the events of the movie. The story revolves around three special sisters who save the world from a nefarious plot (by the British Library, no less) to 'unite' all mankind by reformatting their brains.
The anime as a whole, I must say, is awesomely created. Everything is perfect: the characters, the act, even the storyline. A superbly crafted series, R.O.D. the TV manages to leave nothing to the imagination, yet conveys an intellectual involvement that is interesting on so many levels.
The story, to begin with, is superb. The episodes moves from one to another in seamless sequence. Not for a moment does one feel out of place. The exciting part…
Read at the sourceNightships
R.O.D the TV soars above it's manga equivalent, Read or Dream, in terms of strong story and well developed characters, even bringing back several popular characters from the past. While the two host the same primary characters, the plot line of the tv series takes on a whole different path from the manga, and I must say that it was a brilliant choice. Although the series overall is rather slow to develop, it all results in an amazing ending climax and resolution that is well worth viewing for oneself.
Do note that it is not necessary to know anything about the Read or Die setting previous to this series to be able to follow it, although many elements do tie in with the past.
Story: 9
This story centers around several bibliophile sisters (and one who hates books) who are able to animate p…
Read at the sourceMaster10K
Read or Die - the TV is a very interesting Action, Adventure, Anime; where the main characters have the strange ability to control paper. After watching this you might begin to think differently about books and paper. ^_^
Read or Die - the TV follows the adventures of three sisters who have the ability to manipulate paper. These three sisters end up protecting a famous writer Nenene, who's being targeted by some dangerous people. Yet while protecting her, they also take on missions from the Chinese Intelligence on the side, to retrieve rare stolen books. It continues like this until the British Empire begins to make their move.
The storyline of this action-packed anime takes place 5 years after the incident in the original R.O.D OAV. Just like in the OAV this anime follows the adventures…
Read at the sourceRanivus
Despite its bookworm outlook at the begging, this show is very action oriented. And its action is centered around Nenene\'s three \'bodyguards\' known as Paper Users. They have the ability to shape and mold any forms of paper to virtually anything they want. Anita King runs the offensive using paper as blades and other weapons, Michelle Cheung is the defensive user creating barriers and such, and Maggi Mui has the most versitility of the paper being able to create creatures and vehicles. At my first impression of the use of this power i was a bit skeptical. If your anything like me your probably going to say, "Look at all that paper!" And thats no joke too... they use alot of paper in this show (green peace freaks probably shouldnt watch this show). After the intial shock the action starts…
Read at the sourceBoba_Ganush06
From slicing steel to bows and arrows, a "Papermaster" has the ability to manipulate papers any way they want. In Hong Kong, three Papermaster sisters, Anita, Maggie, Michelle, use their skills to protect their writer friend Nenene from a bomb threat. In doing so they become a part of something more then a simple bodyguard job and it’s up to them to save the day.
Everything about this show is great, from character development to the story line. This is an anime you should not miss out on!!!
Read at the source